Itagaki Manabu
Itagaki Manabu (板垣 学) is a Featherweight Hybrid boxer, formally an Out-Boxer at the Kamogawa Boxing Gym. Along with Makunouchi Ippo, Takamura Mamoru, Aoki Masaru, and Kimura Tatsuya, Itagaki rounds out the core group of main characters for the story. About The "youngest" member of the Kamogawa Boxing Gym, Itagaki is a generally friendly and cheery kid. He has been shown to be able to get along with nearly everyone (even Mashiba Ryou), unless he wishes not, such as with his rival Imai Kyousuke (although Imai views him as a friend). He is protective of his younger sister, Nanako, particularly when it comes to Imai. He greatly admires Makunouchi Ippo and aims to reach up to him one day. Imai has pointed out that one day Itagaki will want to test himself on Ippo, which he will be unable to do as long as they are part of the same gym. But he doesn't care saying he'll wait till Ippo relinquishes the title. Although Ippo is his senpai, he often watches out for Ippo like an older brother, defending him during discussions about boxing, reassuring him when he loses confidence, and helping him out with his relationship with Mashiba Kumi, however, he also has a love interest for Kumi, and feels a little bit jealous of his senpai. He still shows signs of being overall less mature than Ippo, and at these times Ippo becomes a good senpai for him. He is viewed as an elite along with fellow former amateur Imai, but in actuality his family is quite poor and lives in a run-down house. He and his family tend to argue using lame puns, but still manage to get along well. Nicknames, etc. Boxing style .]] Itagaki is based on "Sugar" Ray Leonard. He has an amazing boxing sense and is considered by many to be a genius of the sport. His depth perception, reflexes, and timing are all above average, and he has even been seen to easily avoid Mashiba Ryou's Flicker Jab's in sparring sessions. Mashiba has even said that his speed exceeds Miyata Ichirou's. His only weakness appears to be his small body's inability to withstand pain well. .]] When entering the ring, He always run towards the ring and after a while he enters the ring, jump onto the corner post and shout the word " Gakiiin!!! ". Itagaki mimic the word and the pose from the anime " Magnerobo Ga-Kiin " which "Gaakiiin" is short for gathering energy. After sweep wins he is known to perform a backflip in his corner. Techniques *Sway *Back-Step *Counter *Cross-counter *Jolt Counter *Porcupine *Bullet Time *Neck spin *Dragon Fish Blow *Ali Shuffle Story Itagaki originally tried out and prevailed at many sports, but when he tried boxing he came across Imai Kyousuke and was defeated by him 3 times. In order to defeat him no matter what, he skipped college and instead joined the Kamogawa Boxing Gym. After Umezawa Masahiko retired from the Makunouchi Fishing Boat in order to pursue his own dreams, Itagaki took over his job and therefore now receives the same kind of work training that Ippo went through. After a tough fight with Imai, Itagaki captured the East Japan Rookie King title and has seemingly tapped into his true fighting potential. His speed, reflex and timing has opened up on a whole new level. He knocked out the West Japan Rookie King, Hoshi Hiroyuki in just a few blows, and recently defeated two of the fastest characters in the series in the Class A Tournament: Karasawa Takuzou and Saeki Takuma. He has now gained the attention of the OPBF Champion, Miyata Ichirou, as well as the number 1 ranking in Japan, giving him top priority to fight Ippo Makunouchi (if he were in a different gym). Itagaki dominated Karasawa with his speed for the first half of the first round. However, Karasawa had a trick up his sleeve to surprise the still green Itagaki.'' While Itagaki was trying to shift his speed a gear higher, Karasawa shifted his gears lower, making Itagaki adjust to Karasawa's rhythm. As Itagaki attempted a Jolt Counter, courtesy of Miyata, Karasawa would shift his gears back to his normal speed and knocked Itagaki down. Itagaki was surprised and began to believe that Karasawa was faster than him. The first round ends in favor of Karasawa. During the second round, Karasawa continues to dominate Itagaki. However, Itagaki remembers Ippo's advice, which was whenever you're in a pinch, start aiming for small gains. Itagaki started to use just his left and tried to connect with Karasawa. The attempt seemed futile, as Karasawa balled himself into a defensive shell to stave off the young boxer. Itagaki began to become more focused and began to bob and weave faster and faster. Eventually, Itagaki's fast movements created the illusion that he had disappeared from the ring. Karasawa could no longer catch Itagaki's movements with his eyes as Itagaki bombarded Karasawa with his lefts. Eventually, as Itagaki had finally opened up Karasawa and was going to finish him with his right straight, ''Karasawa succumbed and was knocked out 2:13 into the second round, two seconds faster than Ippo's KO time. Fights Successions Trivia *In his fight with Hoshi Hiroyuki, he didn't win the title of All Japan Rookie Champion because his fight withHoshi HiroyukiImai Kyousuke had left him in a bad condition for a long time, and unable to meet the deadline of the final match. *After, if not during, his fight with Karasawa Takuzou, Itagaki seemed to have suffered a sense of Insanity, to the point that, without realizing it, he reached out to Ippo with what seemed to be a murderous air about him. Luckily, his towel fell, and he caught himself. but for now he dosn't know what he was feeling then. *Itagaki falls into the Speed Triangle, which consists of fellow Japanese Boxers Saeki Takuma and Ichiro Miyata, who are all gifted with almost superhuman speed and footwork. Category:Active boxers Category:Male characters Category:Characters from Japan Category:Kamogawa Boxing Gym Category:Featherweights Category:Out Boxers Category:Eastern Japan Rookie King Manabu Category:Makunouchi Fishing Boat Category:All Japan Rookie King Category:Boxers